In addition to causing frustration for shoppers, long lines at point-of-sale (POS) terminals can negatively impact a retailer's sales and revenue. For example, shoppers may defer a purchase, or may be unlikely to return to the shopping area after getting in line to retrieve additional products if lines are long. While an employee can be tasked with monitoring line length, this solution is not optimal. For example, when an employee is utilized to monitor line length, the employee may not be able to quickly and accurately determine the types and quantities of products customers are buying, how long it will take to complete each customer's transaction, etc. Additionally, assigning an employee to such a task requires the retailer to either reassign an employee, potentially leaving the retailer shorthanded elsewhere, or pay to add an additional employee. Consequently, a need exists for accurate and cost-effective systems and methods for monitoring qualities of a line, such as the length, at POS terminals.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.